Snowfall
by The Dark Strategist
Summary: Before the fell dragon wrought destruction upon the land, there was a time of peace. As the saying goes, it is always calm before the storm. This is but one of these moments.


_**Note: The time this story takes place is a little iffy. I vaguely remember Lucina mentioning that the apocalypse started ten years after her birth, so this a few years before Grima rises.**_

_**Also, I went with the name I gave my Avatar, so that's why his name isn't Robin.**_

Cassidy fell back and a tiny foot placed itself roughly on his chest. A small, wooden sword was pointed as his throat. Despite this, he had to stop himself grinning.

"Ah! I'm defeated! Have mercy on me, please, O mighty Lucina!"

The young princess looked as though she was contemplating between finishing him off or sparing him. After a minute or so, she took her foot off his chest and offered him her hand. He grabbed it, appreciating the gesture, though he mostly had to push himself up.

She pulled on his hand, indicating that he should follow her. He stood, letting Lucina lead him. They stopped, and she pointed to the corner of the room. He was confused for a moment before he realized what she wanted. He sat down, watching as she built a barricade of wooden blocks around him.

"Instead of killing you for your crimes, you shall spend the rest of your days in the dungeons of Ylisse," she decreed. She sat down, watching him intently as if expecting him to make a break for freedom.

Cassidy had to once again stop himself from grinning. Lucina was such a fun kid, always play-acting as heroes of old, though she'd deny she did such things if anyone accused her of playing make believe. As the oldest child out of her group of friends, she felt she needed to wear a mask of maturity because they all looked up to her. As far as he knew, besides Chrom, Sully, and Lucina's sister Kjelle, he was one of the few people she acted like this around, which made him feel good.

If Cassidy had to be honest with himself, he wanted a kid like Lucina. He'd always wanted a family of his own but due to his position, he was always busy, leaving him little time to court women. Some the noble women that attend court had shown interest in him, according to Chrom, but Cassidy had no interest in them. Their pompous attitudes grated severely on his nerves.

Lucina stood and stepped over the barricade she had built, sitting down in front of him, gazing at him with her startling blue eyes. She looked so much like her father.

"Cas, what do you wanna do?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"We always do what I wanna do," she said. "I wanna know what you wanna do."

If anyone else had asked him this question, he would have said he wanted to read or take a nap. But this was Lucina and he genuinely enjoyed spending time with her.

"Whatever you wanna do."

She frowned. "C'mon, there's gotta be something you wanna do besides what I wanna do."

Cassidy glanced out the window, deep in thought, when he noticed snowflakes falling slowly outside. He moved towards the window, Lucina squeezing in next to him. She was on her tip toes. Cassidy chuckled then picked her up so she could see.

He smiled. "Y'know, Lucina, there is something I wanna do."

Cassidy marveled at the valley of white that covered Ylisse. Every available surface was coated in a blanket of snow. Smoke poured of chimneys as people tried to desperately warm their houses.

Cassidy felt something pull on his cloak. He looked down to see Lucina wrapping part of his cloak around herself. In their haste, Lucina had forgotten to put on some heavier clothing. He cursed himself for not reminding her to change. He slid his coat of his shoulders, pulling it around Lucina.

"Aren't you going to get cold?" she asked concernedly, knowing Cassidy's thin sleeveless top wouldn't keep him warm.

"The cold doesn't bother me," he assured her. "Besides, even if it did, all I'd have to do is this." Cassidy muttered an incantation and suddenly a small flame sat in his hands.

Lucina stared at the flame in wonder. He'd performed magic in front of her dozens of times and yet it still never failed to amaze her. She'd asked him how magic worked countless times but despite his vast wealth of knowledge, he didn't know and could only give her vague, incomplete explanations.

He closed his hands around the fire, causing it to disappear.

"Alright. What do you wanna do first?"

"It's your turn to decide what we do, remember?"

"Right…" The tactician racked his brain, finding it difficult to decide on what they should do first. While he was thinking, his eyes scanned the area, settling on a snowman outside the castle gates.

"Let's build a snowman."

Lucina nodded eagerly. "Okay!"

Cassidy began rolling snow, trying to make the base for the snowman. He asked Lucina to search for some pebbles they could use for eyes and a mouth while he worked. Once she had gathered them, she went over to assist Cassidy with the production of the snowman's torso. He let Lucina make the head while he dug in the snow for sticks to use as arms.

He grabbed the torso, placing it on the base, and then put the head on. He told Lucina to grab the pebbles. He picked her up so she could make the snowman's face. He set her down then grabbed the sticks he'd found, ramming them into the snowman's body.

"Nice," he said, admiring their handiwork. He gave Lucina a high-five.

"Oi!"

"Cassidy glanced up to his best friend, Chrom, leaning out the window, grinning at them. "You having fun out there?"

Lucina's face lit up. "Yeah! You wanna join us, Father?"

"Yeah, Chrom, c'mon."

Chrom gave them a sad smile. "I can't. I have a meeting to attend." Chrom caught the disappointed expression that flashed across his daughter's face. "I promise, Luce, as soon as it's over, I'll join you. Be patient, okay?"

"I understand!" she told him. She waved good-bye. "See you soon, Father!"

Cassidy waved too. "Have fun!"

Chrom rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I'll try!" he shouted before rushing off toward the meeting room.

Lucina sighed, turning her attention back to Cassidy. "What next?"

Cassidy picked up a small ball of snow and tossed it upwards, catching it before it hit the ground. He threw the snowball gently at Lucina. It hit her in the chest and she took a moment to wipe the snow off her shirt before retaliating. Unlike Cassidy, she was not gentle when she tossed. She pelted him as hard as she could.

He laughed, running away from the blue-haired girl. She chased him relentlessly, throwing snowball after snowball, not giving him anytime to launch a counterattack. During the chase, his foot became caught in a tree root hidden under the snow, causing him to fall. Lucina tried to slow to stop but ended up running into him, falling onto his back. They both laughed, reveling in the joy they felt.

Ten minutes later, Chrom came to join them along with Sully and Kjelle. Eventually, Lissa, Frederick, and Owain came out to play, too. Lissa and Chrom pelted each other with snowballs, Kjelle aiding her father as best she could. Frederick, Lucina, and Owain made snow angels. Cassidy had been watching them all silently when Sully suddenly tackled him. They wrestled in the snow and only stopped because Lucina had kindly asked her mother to quit beating up on the underdressed tactician.

After what seemed like hours, they went back inside the castle. Sully gave both her daughters a kiss on the cheek before informing them she had some new Shepherd recruits to train. Chrom hugged her tightly before letting her leave. Owain asked his cousins if they wanted to come to his room to play. Kjelle took him up on the offer but Lucina declined, saying she was too tired.

Chrom, Lucina, and Cassidy were left in the corridor. Chrom asked Lucina if there was anything else she wanted to do and she answered him with a yawn.

"I think someone needs a nap."

Lucina nodded, not even bothering to deny it. Her father took her hand and Lucina grabbed Cassidy's. He blinked in surprise but didn't pull his hand away. They walked in a comfortable silence to Lucina's room. Lucina broke away from Chrom and Cassidy, flopping tiredly onto her bed. Chrom kissed her forehead and pulled the covers over her. Cassidy ruffled her hair, telling her to sleep well. She grinned and almost immediately fell asleep.

Chrom smiled contently, making a move to stand but stopped, eyes catching a glimpse of a familiar purple cloth.

"She's still got her coat," he pointed out, unsure if he should make a move to take it from her.

Cassidy shook his head. "Let her sleep. I'll get it back later."

Chrom nodded. They both tiptoed to the door, trying to open it quietly. Chrom stopped in the doorway to look back at Lucina.

"I can't believe how lucky I am." Chrom's expression grew distant, as if his mind were somewhere else. "They grow up do fast. It's like only yesterday Lucina and Kjelle were infants. Now, Kjelle's almost six and Lucina's eight. I'm so afraid they're going to grow up without me. I'm always so busy."

Cassidy clapped him on the shoulder. "You worry too much."

Chrom sighed. "Maybe…" He looked at his friend, a wide grin forming on his face. "Thank you."

Cassidy raised an eyebrow in confusion and surprise. "What are you thanking me for?"

"For supporting me. For protecting me. For keeping Lucina company when Sully and I aren't around." He chuckled. "Kjelle doesn't mind being alone, but Lucina needs people, whether she wants to admit it or not." He patted Cassidy on the shoulder, Chrom's version of a hug. "Just…thank you. For everything."

Cassidy suppressed a blush. He wasn't use to receiving such genuine gratitude. "I wouldn't have the life I do if it weren't for you. So there's no need to thank me, Chrom."

Chrom nodded, shutting the door softly behind them. They stood there quietly for a moment before Chrom asked, "Want to spar?"

"You bet! Last one to the barracks has to buy the winner a flagon of ale!"

"Deal!"

The two ran down the hall, elbowing each other as they raced. They chuckled and egged each other, joking around in what felt like ages.

_**I appreciate those who took their time to read this. If you spot any grammatical errors, please inform me and I'll correct them. I wrote this really late, so there may be a few mistakes. I'm not going to change the "wannas" and the one "gonna" I think I put in here. I typed those on purpose.**_


End file.
